Nationals fans who braved the cold at Nationals Park Friday night were rewarded with a walk-off victory as the team kicked off a series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers with a dramatic 10-inning affair.

The Brewers, who are known for both their frugality and their famous sausage race, once again refused to bring their racing mascots to town; and so, for the third consecutive year, the Nationals made do with their own substitutes.

In the fourth-inning presidents race, the “un-racing sausages” made their now annual appearance by blocking the finish line. The Nats racing presidents busted through their cardboard blockade, and Jefferson pulled ahead for the win.

Expect to see more antics from the makeshift sausages as the series continues this weekend.

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Yesterday was the biggest traffic day in our blog’s short history, surpassing even that notorious date in 2009 when Potato Pete leveled Teddy Roosevelt in Pittsburgh, and the way today is trending, the record may fall fast.

Why all the excitement? Wednesday night’s appearance of a super-sized John F. Kennedy certainly drew a ton of attention, but the headline that followed last night stirred the pot to a degree not usually seen in our harmless little world.

Quite a few Phillies fans, as it turns out, have taken offense.

After being named Worst Sports Fans in America this month by GQ Magazine, some of the Phillies’ faithful are crusading to correct what they see as an unfair stereotype.

Well, pilloried might not be the right word, but the boo-birds did come out of the woodwork, calling it bullsh–, calling me an ass and a jerk, calling DC fans classless and drunks, and otherwise generally dishing the brotherly love.

Yes, the headline was intended to be provocative. But even though Bob Carpenter had said on the MASN broadcast that it was a Phillies fan, and all evidence supports the allegation, I noted in the write-up that the fan in question was not, in fact, wearing Phillies gear.

Will anybody step forward to verify the fan’s identity? As the comments continue to pour in here, the question has since been taken up by discussion forums up and down I-95, plus Dan Steinberg’s DC Sports Bog, Half Smokes, and Yahoo’s Big League Stew (which contributed the photo illustration above).

Or as a fan on MLB.com pointed out, “Maybe it was just a fan trying to finally get Teddy Roosevelt a win in the race.”
UPDATE:Confirmed.

It wasn’t a complete invasion, but busloads of Philadelphia fans were among the 24,875 at Nationals Park Thursday night to see Cliff Lee and Jordan Zimmermann go at it in the final game of the Nationals’ series vs. the Phillies.

The notorious boo-birds have earned a reputation for importing disruptive behavior to Nationals Park, and Thursday night was no exception, as the local MASN broadcast caught a spectator reaching into the field of play during the fourth-inning presidents race.

The fan appears to be reaching for a high five, then cocks his arm and slams Thomas Jefferson squarely in the face:

The fan wasn’t wearing team gear, but can there be any doubt where he’s from? UPDATE: We’re told that Nationals Park security “swarmed” him and immediately ejected him from the park.

After getting hit, Jefferson spun around but maintained his balance. Teddy Roosevelt was nearly able to take advantage and grab the victory, but he was outpaced by Abraham Lincoln in the stretch.

The Nationals nearly pulled off the comeback win Wednesday night against Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies, but as Teddy Roosevelt has learned time and time again, close isn’t quite enough.

With the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus in town, the Nationals had announced that the famous clowns would be at Nationals Park to participate in the fourth-inning presidents race, but what transpired Wednesday night was more Fellini than Bozo.

The strange affair saw presidents getting picked off one-by-one as they attempted to traverse a bizarre obstacle course that included a first-ever appearance by a fifth president.

As the presidents entered the field, PA announcer Jerome Hruska introduced the “American presidential gladitorial race.” After navigating around a circus clown positioned in the outfield, the presidents ran into a super-sized John F. Kennedy, who knocked George Washington to the ground. A Nat Pack member then took out Abe, leaving Teddy and Tom to break through two giant paper doors. Alas, Teddy picked door #2, where he was tackled by members of the grounds crew.

It remains to be seen whether Kennedy will make repeat appearances at Nationals Park. JFK, of course, is not on Mt. Rushmore, and Wednesday night he did not wear a uniform or compete in the race.

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The Washington Nationals have released a coupon code “for Teddy’s fans” good for half-price outfield tickets to games this Friday or Saturday night vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, and for select future games vs. the New York Mets, Florida Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The online code gets you half-price tickets in the outfield corners ($17 to $18), outfield mezzanine ($14 to $15), outfield reserved ($11 to $12), or outfield gallery ($8 to $9). You must order at Nationals.com using Coupon Code “TEDDY26”.

The code may also be used for half price tickets for the April 26-27 games vs. the New York Mets, the May 13-14 games vs. the Florida Marlins, and the May 16-17 games vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates,

As always, 400 Grandstand-level seats (Section 401/402) will also be available for $5.00 each at the gate before the game. No coupon required for those.

Livan Hernandez and the Washington Nationals treated fans to a decisive victory over the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday night at Nationals Park, evening the team’s record at 5-5 as
they kicked off this week’s homestand vs. the Phils and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Nationals racing president Teddy Roosevelt rarely misses an opportunity to celebrate history, and as Tuesday was the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first human space flight, our favorite #26 took the field in the fourth inning wearing a makeshift cosmonaut helmet.

Unfortunately for Teddy fans, the Rough Rider took the tribute a little too seriously, pretending to run in zero gravity slow motion, and allowing George, Tom, and Abe to sprint past.